The present invention relates to a roofing product. More specifically, the present invention provides a tapered starter block for use in the starter course of a roofing project.
There are many types of roofing shingles including asphalt, wood shake, slate and composite shingles. Many of these shingles have some structural rigidity. For example, slate, wood shake and some types of composite shingles will not substantially flex or bend. Other types of composite shingles will bend a short distance if forced but at a cost of increased stress at the area where the shingle is bent. Typical asphalt shingles have little structural rigidity.
When installing a roofing system, a roofer will likely begin by coupling a starter course along the eaves of the roof to form a base for the first course of full shingles. Often, the starter course is composed of shingles that have been cut so that they have a shorter length than the standard shingle. For shingles with less structural rigidity, a single layer of cut shingles is generally sufficient for the starter course.
For shingles with more than a little structural rigidity, however, if only one layer of shingles is used for the starter course, then the shingles in the first course will not lie flat on the starter course while maintaining some contact with the roof behind the starter course. Thus, when the second course of shingles is installed, the first course shingles will extend above the starter course so that there is some distance or gap between the bottom of the first course shingle and the top or upper surface of the starter course. To avoid this problem, a roofer may couple the front portion of a first course shingle to the starter course in addition to coupling the back portion of the shingle to the roof, thereby causing the first course shingle to bend along the back edge of the starter course. Of course, a roofer may employ this method only when the shingles are capable of bending and, even then, bending the shingle places unnecessary stress on the shingle at the bend line that may lead to premature failure.
Roofers have developed several methods to address the above-stated problem. One solution is for a roofer to cut an additional number of shingles into even smaller sections and install those sections in a second layer on top of and towards the front of the starter course in order to fill the distance between the first course shingles and the starter course. Unfortunately, this is not an optimal solution because it increases both the shingles required for the project and the time required to complete the roof.
Another method developed by roofers is to cut a piece of lumber or other solid building material into a starter strip and then use the strip along the eaves of the roof to form the starter course. Typically, the starter strip is made as long as possible, and usually significantly longer than traditional shingles, so that the fewest number of strips are required. However, because each type of shingle may be sized differently, it is difficult to create a standard wooden starter strip that would work with different types of shingle. In addition, care must be taken when installing the first course shingles to insure that the shingles completely cover the starter strip. As with the previous method, this solution is not optimal because of the extra time, effort, material and expense required to produce the strips.
Finally, some simulated shingles are designed so that they have some type of interlocking joint or contour structure that allows the back end of one shingle to fit together with the front end of a later installed shingle course when the shingles are installed. Occasionally, these shingles will have an accompanying starter product for installation at the roof eaves. It should be understood that these starter strips include the same interlocking joint or contour structure as the regular shingles, and, therefore, are not suitable for use with other types of shingles.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to provide a product that would prevent the problems described above. More specifically, it is beneficial to provide a product that could be used to eliminate any gap between the front portion of the first course shingles and the upper or top surface of the product underlying the first course shingle and/or any gap between the back of the first course shingle and the roof so that the first course shingles may be installed without substantially bending or breaking. Additionally, it would be beneficial to provide a product that accomplishes the above and that is usable with different types of shingles and capable of being produced in numbers.